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Well, it’s been a while since my last blog post.

Not that I have given up but the last few months have been busy with setting up my new bakery business. I have continued to eat and drink well, with local ingredients wherever possible, and have a sizeable backlog of stories and pictures to share.

However a lot of energy has gone into establishing myself as an artisan baker.

I always enjoyed making bread but at Ballymaloe Cookery School where bread was made each day my love really took off.

Breaking away from Local Government gave me the chance to do something with bread and Bill King Artisan Baker came into existence in October last year, just as regular blogging took a break.

I am baking Real Bread using only Flour, Water, Yeast and a little Salt.

A trial at the newly established Llanyrafon Manor Food and Craft Market, where I shared a stall and rapidly sold out, was enough to convince me that people really did want an honest and pure product and it was all systems go.

Of course there was the period of getting past the statutory hurdles, Environmental Health, Trading Standards and HMRC which took a while, and learning about business where I had great help from some free seminars. But, by November I was up and running.

My regular Market is Llanyrafon on the last Sunday of the month but I also have regular customers and bake a couple of times a week.

Now I need a new oven as demand outstrips the capacity of my small domestic one, but I intend to stay true to principle and remain a micro-baker.

Part of the fun is teaching others to bake bread and I really enjoy the half day courses that I run and am always pleased to hear how students are getting on with their breads.

Courses are run from home so that I can show how a domestic oven will turn out good breads and give people confidence to carry on – a small amount of fresh yeast to take away gives them even more encouragement.

A brief explanation of the bakery is given on my website www.billkingartisanbaker.co.uk and you can read reviews of the courses here:

http://icouldeatthatrightnow.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/baking-for-fun-artisan-baking-with-bill-king-my-experience/

http://cwmbranlife.wordpress.com/2012/12/19/cwmbran-man-follows-his-dream-to-open-a-cookery-school-in-the-town-baking-with-bill-king/

So what of the future?

I will be posting new food blogs here, and have some good stuff to come. But on the baking front I will be continuing the Market and courses but for now the main task is improving my Italian to translate the new book I bought in Sorrento!